United We Stand
by Haru Shinkai
Summary: It has been eight years since the defeat of Lucemon and the gang have settled into their lives. Dark times emerge once more in the digital world and the gang are joined by four new or maybe old friends. Can they defeat the new enemy once more?


Okay so I've been into Frontier and Nano is finally over plus I need a bit of a break from Fade Away so I am beginning another epic story which is a sequel to Digimon Frontier. For fans of Kousei Minamoto, I should warn you all I write him as abusive due to my headcanons. I just can't see him any other way now. I'm sorry if that bothers anyone. Thank you to **coolgamer** for betareading this chapter. Okay so ages:

Takuya, Koji, Koichi, Zoe, Takara and Nao are 19

Haruka and Dai are 18

Tommy is 17

JP is 20

Anyway, please enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 01: Still United as One**

It had been eight years since the defeat of Lucemon in the digital world and the gang had come a long way since then. Takuya had joined the Police Academy and was enjoying it a lot. Koji was in his first year of law while Koichi had begun his own band after encouragement from his friends which was quite successful. Zoe had gone into medicine and was also in her first year. JP had become a very well-known magician throughout Japan and had a fair few fans. He had also gone on a diet when his friends made him and lost a fair amount of weight. Tommy was in his second year of high school. Despite now leading busy lives, Takuya made sure they all got together every second weekend either at someone's house or if Koichi or JP had something on, they would go there, as was the case for this one particular get together.

Most of the gang had gathered at Koichi's concert and he was just about to come on to perform but Koji wasn't here.

"Where is Koji?" Takuya asked frustrated at the fact that his best friend wasn't there.

Zoe bit her lower lip. "It's not like him to miss one of his brother's concerts like this." The blonde had grown quite beautiful over the years, her long blonde hair flowing a little below waist length, and right now her oak green eyes shone with concern.

"He has to be ok, though right?" Tommy said, twiddling his own fingers nervously. Whilst he had grown more independent, he was still the youngest and at times still needed reassurance.

"This is Koji we're talking about," JP said dismissively. "He knows how to take care of himself."

Zoe nodded, trying to believe that although she wasn't so sure. Koji tried hard to act independent, but she wasn't sure he could always handle things alone. She wished he would learn to rely on Koichi a bit more. Speaking of Koichi, her eyes drifted to the older twin and a smile graced her beautiful features. Seeing Koichi so confident up there made her feel proud of how far he had come from his life as Duskmon and the struggles he had faced. Of course, he was still very private and only had a band because he enjoyed singing, still becoming red and shying away when fangirls surrounded him. The older twin had grown quite handsome over the years as well after all, so girls flocking towards him was a natural thing.

Still being a bit of an outcast herself, Zoe tended to keep herself at a distance when Koichi, Takuya, Koji or JP were surrounded by fangirls, self-conscious that she may soil their reputation no matter how much they all said they didn't care. Once the song had ended, there was a bit of a break before the next song and Koichi came down to meet with the rest of them.

"How was it?" Koichi asked, looking anxious causing Zoe to giggle a bit. Trust Koichi to be nervous about their opinion, not worrying about what hundreds of other fans thought about him.

"You were awesome man!" Takuya said cheerfully.

"I really enjoyed it!" Tommy added as JP clapped Koichi on the back.

"You have an amazing voice, dude," JP said honestly. "No wonder girls flock to you so much."

Koichi flushed at that, mumbling something that went unheard. Zoe moved over and wrapped her arms around the older twin in a quick hug.

"You were amazing," Zoe whispered in his ear softly, causing him to blush even further. Her own cheeks heated up as she quickly pulled away from him.

Koichi smiled a bit before his face formed into a frown. "Koji still isn't here. Why didn't he come?"

Zoe's heart clenched at the disheartened expression on her friend's face and squeezed his hand gently. "Maybe something came up?" She knew that was unlikely because Koji never missed Koichi's concerts no matter how busy he was, but she couldn't think of anything else.

Takuya did not help things by scowling and crossing his arms. "He won't even pick up his phone! Where could he be? Koichi, can't you use your twin telepathy or something?"

Koichi shook his head. "I tried…I'm worried. This isn't like him. He rarely ever locks me out like this."

Zoe thought about this. "How long before you have to…?" She was cut off by Koichi's cell phone ringing and he answered it.

"Hello?" Koichi spoke softly into the phone. "Yes, I'm Koichi Kimura." His face paled as he listened to the person on the other end. "Is…how is Koji? I'm coming." He hung up the phone, nearly dropping it due to how much his hands were shaking. Zoe and JP quickly exchanged a glance before Zoe moved to steady Koichi's hands while JP draped an arm around his best friend's shoulder.

"Koichi, what happened?" Zoe asked gently, her eyes watching him with worry at seeing him act this way.

"Koji…" was all Koichi said shakily. "Dad, he…"

"Did Kousei hurt Koji, Koichi?" Takuya said, fury dripping from his tone and Zoe threw her friend a frosty look as Koichi flinched. Luckily, Tommy did the honors of scolding Takuya for her.

"Takuya!" Tommy chided. "Koichi is shaken right now! Have a little tact!"

"I'm just worried," Takuya defended himself although softened his voice. "What happened Koichi?"

"Kousei beat him," Koichi finally was able to admit. "I'm going to the hospital. I must see Koji. I have to make sure he's alright."

Tommy quickly covered Takuya's mouth before he could scream in rage again and Zoe shot JP a dangerous look as he was about to do the same. Zoe squeezed both of Koichi's hands gently.

"You need to calm down," Zoe counselled gently. "We'll all go to the hospital, but Koji will panic if he sees you like this. I know this isn't going to be easy, Koichi but you need to be strong for him. Kousei hurt him in that way, he'll need his big brother to be there for him, to assure him that he still has family who cares about him. We'll all go with you, Koichi. But you need to calm down ok? For Koji's sake." She hoped her words worked as she wasn't sure what to say right now. She was worried about Koji too of course but it was important for Koichi to remain calm if they were going to help Koji. It did seem to work as the shaking stopped and Koichi's dark blue eyes met her oak green ones.

"Y-yeah," Koichi finally agreed. "You're right, Zee. I can't break down when Koji's vulnerable. He needs me to be the strong one right now. Will…will you all come with me?"

"Of course," Zoe assured him. "You're not the only one who cares about Koji."

"We're all coming," Takuya added firmly. "Koji's my best friend after all."

JP nodded in agreement. "We're all here for both of you."

Tommy went over and hugged Koichi, the other returning it. "Koichi, don't be scared ok? You're a good big brother. If Koji has you, he has nothing to worry about."

"Thanks, you guys," Koichi said gratefully. He then pulled away to go cancel the concert. Once everything was done, the six of them headed to the hospital.

* * *

Despite it beginning to grow dark, the hospital was quite packed, and people were rushing in and out of there. Koichi may have calmed down considerably due to Zoe's gentle reassurance, but his heart still churned at the fact that he had never known. Of course, he had always had an idea that Kousei's relationship with Koji wasn't the greatest, but he had never guessed it was this extreme that there was physical abuse involved. His heart kept seeming to skip as he moved down the busy halls, looking for the room his brother was in, not really remembering the conversation at the reception desk aside from the directions to the room.

His dark blue eyes scanned the area and he caught sight of his mother coming out of the room Koji was in and immediately he went over to her. "Mom? How's Koji?" His friends surrounded him and for that, he was glad. He didn't know what he would have done had he been alone when he received the news about Koji.

Tomoko's face was pale, but she managed to not cry and give a shaky smile, even if Koichi could see right through it. "He's still unconscious right now. But there's a lot of internal bleeding and from the reports, it's clear it was an intense beating. Koichi, did you know about this? Did Koji ever mention anything?"

Koichi shook his head. "No Mom. I knew he and Dad didn't have the best relationship, but I didn't know things were this bad." He felt shame well up inside of him. What kind of older brother was he, letting his little brother go through something like this? He was the older sibling. He should have known somehow.

Takuya pulled at his hair frustrated. "I don't get it! Why would Koji keep something like this a secret? We've always been able to tell each other everything!"

"He was scared," Tommy said softly, and all eyes turned on him, causing him to flush a bit at the attention. "It's the same with bullies. They drain your confidence so much that you start wondering if it's your fault somehow. It's not logical but when we're hurt, we don't really think logically. Koji's never really been that great with his emotions to be honest."

Well, that was true. But it still didn't change the fact that he had failed. Koichi knew it was irrational to think since he hadn't known, but that made things even worse. They had a close connection – he should've been able to feel Koji's pain, to sense the strain behind Koji's smile. However, he pushed this aside to focus on the situation. "Can we see him, Mom?"

Tomoko sighed. "He's unconscious. There's really no point. Let him rest and come back in the morning. Hopefully he should be awake by then."

Koichi shook his head, not wanting to leave his twin alone longer then he had already during this ordeal. "I'll stay the night with him. The others can go home if they want."

Zoe bit her lip and glanced at Koichi before looking at Tomoko. "I don't think any of us will be able to rest at home to be honest whilst knowing Koji is passed out in the hospital. He's a dear friend to all of us after all."

"Staying here won't help him recover any faster," Tomoko counselled gently. "Koichi, if all of you want to stay over at our place, you're more than welcome to since it's the closest from here but Koji needs you all well and rested. He's going to need your support – all of you. Especially you Koichi." His mother's eyes came to rest upon his face. "He keeps mumbling in his sleep about you."

"That's why I shouldn't leave," Koichi insisted, not wanting to argue with his mother but not having the heart to leave Koji like this when he was vulnerable. He wanted his little brother to know that he was there and that he'd support him through this.

"None of us are leaving," Takuya said stubbornly, clenching a fist. "Not until we know whether Koji is okay or not."

JP frowned a bit. "I have an idea. Why don't we head over to Koichi's house and as soon as Koji gains consciousness, no matter what time it is, Dr. Kimura lets us know?"

Koichi was still hesitant to leave Koji at all but at the same time, he saw logic in JP's point and bit his lower lip, turning to his mother. "JP's right. Please. Please let us know as soon as he's awake."

Tomoko sighed. "Since it's the only way I'll be able to let you guys get some rest, I promise I'll call as soon as the situation changes." She pulled Koichi into a hug. "He's going to be alright, Koichi. He'll come to live with us after he's discharged."

Koichi buried his face in his mother's shoulder. "He doesn't deserve this, Mom. How can…?"

Tomoko shook her head. "Don't try to understand your father's motives. I thought he'd love and protect Koji, but I can't believe how wrong I was about him." Her eyes flashed for a moment before they returned to their normal gentle look as she pulled away from the hug. "Now go home. And stay close to your friends. You need them as much as they need you right now."

Zoe took Koichi's hand, squeezing it again while JP draped an arm around his best friend's shoulder.

"We're all here for you," Zoe assured him gently and JP simply nodded.

Zoe's mere touch made Koichi's heart skip a beat and he was glad it was drowned out by JP draping an arm around him otherwise he would be blushing bright red by now. Instead, he smiled at both. "Thanks, you guys. I don't know what I'd do if you weren't here with me right now."

"I just hope Koji will be okay," Tommy said softly.

 _So, do I, Tommy. I don't like leaving him here like this, but I'll be there as soon as he's awake._ He would not let Koji suffer alone no matter what happened. It wasn't Koji's fault that their father was an abusive monster and they wouldn't let him ever believe that it was. He made a silent vow to himself to protect Koji from Kousei no matter what it took.

* * *

It seemed no one was able to sleep that night and to be honest, Tommy didn't blame them. He felt too anxious himself to get some shut-eye. Whilst Yutaka was not physically abusive towards him, he could be very harsh sometimes and it did hurt no matter how much he pretended it didn't. He had stopped telling Takuya and the others though because they got overprotective. Even Koichi did, and he was the most pacifistic of all of them. He watched JP try to cheer everyone up with some magic tricks, but nothing seemed to be working. He leaned against Takuya subconsciously.

"Will Koji be alright do you think?" Tommy asked, so only his mentor could hear.

Takuya smiled softly. "Koji's strong. He'll be alright. He'll need us all to be there for him though, Tommy. Everything is a lot harder when you're alone."

Tommy nodded in agreement. He may be the youngest in the group, but he would also do his best to support Koji through this. "I'll do my best too."

Takuya laughed, wrapping a supportive arm around the younger boy. "Then he'll definitely recover soon with all of us trying to cheer him up. We should probably try to get some shut-eye though or we'll fall asleep trying to reassure him." He looked at Tommy before looking at everyone else who hadn't fallen asleep either.

"That's what I've been telling everyone," JP said exasperated. "Koji needs us to be at full strength if we're going to be his support system after all."

Koichi bit his lip. "Do you think Koji is sleeping peacefully? What if he's having nightmares of Kousei hurting him?"

Everyone shifted. It seemed no one knew what to say to that until Takuya finally spoke up.

"You're right Koichi," Takuya agreed. "We don't know if Koji is sleeping peacefully. But how are you going to reassure him, be there for him, protect him from everything if you're exhausted yourself? Koji needs us all at full strength if we're going to be there for him. He needs us to be. We weren't there for him when Kousei was hurting him, but we can be there for him to make sure he never goes through that again. You want that don't you? Don't we all want that?"

Tommy felt encouraged by Takuya's speech. They may not be in the digital world anymore, but Takuya had a way of making everyone believe that things would be alright even when it didn't appear to be that way. He saw the others beginning to calm down somewhat as well. "We have to rest up, so we can be strong for Koji."

Koichi smiled a small bit. "Yeah…you're right Takuya. I don't want to fail Koji again." He let his head fall onto the pillow. He had given everyone a mattress each and they were all sleeping together on the ground. No one really wanted to be alone right now. Tommy allowed his eyes to shut and tried to think that when they woke up, they'd be able to find a way to help Koji. Somehow, everything would work out.


End file.
